The day started all wrong. I had no Newspaper. I hunted under the car, in the flower bed and along the driveway. No paper. Stolen? Maybe. My newspaper, my Globe, is always there. Perhaps a passing runner or dog walker decided to start the day with coffee and a newspaper. That’s how I usually start my day.

My leg is so much better. It hurts mostly in the evening. The top of the foot and the bottom of the leg are still swollen. That’s where the pain is. I’m tired of this.

Nala stole my new package of paper towels. It was unopened on the floor in the living room near the Door. I went looking for it yesterday. I found it on the deck and in the yard, torn pieces all over the place. I cleaned the deck. Today I’ll tackle the yard. This morning Nala grabbed my sandal from the rug by the door on her way to going out for the first time of the morning. She looked at me with it in her mouth. I told her to drop it. She didn’t. Nor did she drop it at my second request. She went to the door where the inevitable dawned. She was not getting out with the sandal so she dropped it. I’m wearing it now. That dog is brazen and funny.

When I was a kid, we did the White Mountains, a one day tour. I remember my father driving up Mt. Washington. I found the trip both scary and thrilling. The road was narrow, just big enough for the two cars with a bit of space between them. I remember how cold it was at the top and that there was snow, a couple of piles of it. On that trip we also saw the Old Man in the Mountain. We went by it in the car. My father slowed down, and we looked out the window. Another spot where we stopped was the Flume Gorge. We got the last bus of the day. I remember walking back to the car.

I remember my first weekend in Accra, the capital of Ghana. We were still in training and were in Koforidua. It is 83km between the two cities, about 50 or so miles. I hitchhiked to Accra with a couple of friends. We got one ride all the way. We stayed at the hostel, the best 50 pesewas I ever spent and would ever continue to spend over the next two years. I remember going to the museum and walking to different monuments. I ate at a restaurant. We rambled that first weekend. We saw as much as we could before heading back to Koforidua and the rest of training. That weekend was the beginning of my love affair with Accra, still very much an old city back then. I loved to wander the streets and markets. I never had a plan except for maybe a movie one night. That was a big city event.